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In a part of the world better known for towering skyscrapers and oil than for its startup scene, Gulf Arab entrepreneurs might be seeing bright times ahead. That’s according to Fadi Ghandour, executive chairman of Wanda Group, whose venture capital fund invests in tech companies all over the Middle East and North Africa. Now that oil prices are dramatically down from their October highs, the veteran Middle East investor says the market moves “will definitely be a blessing in disguise” and in tha

In a part of the world better known for towering skyscrapers and oil than for its startup scene, Gulf Arab entrepreneurs might be seeing bright times ahead. That’s according to Fadi Ghandour, executive chairman of Wanda Group, whose venture capital fund invests in tech companies all over the Middle East and North Africa.

“For years we’ve said there is an inverse relationship between how change happens on the regulatory environment and the price of oil — the lower the price of oil, the faster the change process happens,” Ghandour told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Thursday, pointing to Arab Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates whose economies have historically been dependent on hydrocarbon revenues.

Now that oil prices are dramatically down from their October highs, the veteran Middle East investor says the market moves “will definitely be a blessing in disguise” and in that it will force the development of sustainable, knowledge-based economies and jobs. He believes that startups founded five or more years ago are now reaching their maturity stage, meaning there will be more businesses scaling up in the next several years — if they can get the necessary support.

“These companies born somewhere around 2011, 2012, have raised much more money, they are growing much faster, the region is adopting mobile smartphone technology much faster, they are interacting much faster and at a much larger scale, specifically in Saudi Arabia,” Ghandour said.

“This is the time when there is size, there is scale, and the big funds globally who don’t want to take the risk early on, are going to be looking for entry into a market that they don’t have much presence in.” He pointed to New York-based global equity firm General Atlantic’s investment of $120 million in Dubai-based website Property Finder last November. The Middle East real estate platform was founded in 2007 and has been profitable since 2013.

Investments in Middle East and North Africa (MENA)-based startups went up by 31 percent between 2017 and 2018 to $893 million, with 366 deals made, according to Magnitt, a regional data platform for investors. The database also found that more than 155 institutions invested in MENA startups in 2018, 30 percent of which were from outside the region and 47 percent of which had not previously invested in the region.

Unreported Chinese local government debt may amount to trillions of U.S. dollars, meaning the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio has hit “alarming” levels, S&P Global Ratings said in a report released Tuesday. As a result, the actual level of off-balance sheet debt could be several times more than what is publicly disclosed and range as high as 30 trillion yuan to 40 trillion yuan, or about $4.34 trillion to $5.78 trillion, credit analysts Gloria Lu, Laura Li and their team said in the report. To encou

Unreported Chinese local government debt may amount to trillions of U.S. dollars, meaning the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio has hit “alarming” levels, S&P Global Ratings said in a report released Tuesday.

The analysts noted a large gap between reported investment in local infrastructure and funding, as permitted by central authorities. As a result, the actual level of off-balance sheet debt could be several times more than what is publicly disclosed and range as high as 30 trillion yuan to 40 trillion yuan, or about $4.34 trillion to $5.78 trillion, credit analysts Gloria Lu, Laura Li and their team said in the report.

“And that’s a debt iceberg with titanic credit risks,” they added, estimating that the ratio of all government debt to GDP was 60 percent last year.

To encourage economic growth in the region, local governments in China have invested heavily in infrastructure, often using financing structures known as “local government financing vehicles,” or LGFVs. Details about their size or nature tend to be unclear, and the S&P analysts said much of the hidden debt is in those vehicles.

Beijing has been trying to move financing away from off-balance sheet sources, but has had limited success so far. In the future, S&P Global Ratings expects authorities will allow more defaults in local government financing vehicles, the report said.

In September, the ratings agency lowered its long-term issuer credit ratings on seven vehicles, including two in the city of Tianjin, just outside of Beijing.

Apple suppliers in Asia saw a broad decline on Friday on the back of a bombshell report that alleged Chinese spy chips were discovered in data center equipment used by Amazon and Apple. On Friday in Japan, shares of electronic parts maker TDK dropped by 4.79 percent while component supplier Murata Manufacturing declined by 3.9 percent. Declines were also seen in the Taiwanese markets, where major Apple chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor fell by 1.57 percent and lens maker Largan Precision dropped by

Over in South Korea, LG Display fell by 1.84 percent while industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics closed flat despite earlier announcing that its third-quarter operating profit was likely to have risen to a record high.

Declines were also seen in the Taiwanese markets, where major Apple chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor fell by 1.57 percent and lens maker Largan Precision dropped by 7.28 percent.

The moves in Asia followed a report released on Thursday by Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which alleged that data center equipment employed by Amazon Web Services and Apple could have been vulnerable to spying from the Chinese government as a result of a micro chip being inserted during the equipment manufacturing process.

The chips, which Bloomberg said have been the subject of a top secret U.S. government investigation starting in 2015, were used for gathering intellectual property and trade secrets from American companies and may have been introduced by a Chinese server company called Super Micro that assembled machines used in the centers. Amazon, Apple and Super Micro have disputed the report.

One analyst said, however, that the recent stock moves are unlikely to last long term.

“I think it’s a bit of a knee jerk reaction to the news,” said Leo Sun, a tech and consumer goods specialist at The Motley Fool, adding that the controversy surrounding Super Micro was “only about server chips, not iPhone components.”

Sun also highlighted that Apple’s current suppliers were unlikely to be immediately hurt as the company “ended its relationship with Super Micro back in 2016.”

Sun did, however, add that the report would likely serve as impetus for the American government to “cite this incident to pressure Apple to move its production back to the U.S. and use U.S. components.”

“I doubt Apple will ever comply, since its costs would jump significantly, but it could cause investors to avoid Apple’s Asian suppliers until the matter is resolved,” he said.

Low testosterone can also be caused by tumors in the pituitary gland or testes, especially in younger men, as well as diseases such as type 2 diabetes. So what are the signs of low testosterone? Treatment for prostate cancer, for instance, a common cause of abnormally low testosterone in young men, typically involves decreasing the amount of testosterone in the bloodstream. After stopping testosterone therapy and prescribing medication to decrease the amount of testosterone in the bloodstream, t

Depending on age and individual makeup, typical testosterone levels in adult men range widely, from 280–1,100 ng/dl, according to researchers at the University of Rochester. Most adult men average about 679 ng/dl, although some researchers suggest that 400–600 is optimal in healthy individuals. Testosterone decreases naturally with age, but slowly, at a rate of about 1 percent a year after age 30. Low testosterone can also be caused by tumors in the pituitary gland or testes, especially in younger men, as well as diseases such as type 2 diabetes. It also has been strongly linked to obesity.

So what are the signs of low testosterone? They include low sex drive, fatigue, loss of muscle mass, decreased bone mass, increased body fat and mood changes, including irritability or lack of focus.

Multiple studies have found that testosterone effectively boosts libido and sexual function for older men with hypogonadism. TRT also has been linked to modest increases in bone density, muscle tone and grip strength.

But few of the other claims about TRT, which typically costs about $400 a month and is sometimes not covered by insurance, pan out. For instance, several recent studies corroborating TRT’s positive effects on libido in older men with hypogonadism also found that TRT had no meaningful effect on fatigue, depression, memory, emotional state, enhanced cognition, mood or energy — the two most common reasons men give for seeking out the drug, other than libido — compared to control groups. In addition to the increased risk of heart disease and stroke, scientists currently are debating the role of TRT in the development of prostate cancer.

Comparatively, hypogonadism affects about 3 percent to 5 percent of men under age 45. For them, side effects may be much more dangerous, including permanent infertility, said Halis Kaan Akturk, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado and formerly a doctor at the Mayo Clinic. Akturk said he sees at least one patient per day seeking testosterone, many of them former student athletes now in their 20s and 30s, who began taking testosterone early and are now dependent.

“If we give someone testosterone, we are making their testicles lazy,” Akturk said. “In these patients, who have been using testosterone for five to six years, their testicles get atrophied and sometimes permanently damaged. It’s a hard thing to wean people off of.”

What’s more, abnormally low testosterone in younger men can indicate a different, often serious problem, which artificially upping testosterone levels can make the both harder to detect and treat, Akturk said. Treatment for prostate cancer, for instance, a common cause of abnormally low testosterone in young men, typically involves decreasing the amount of testosterone in the bloodstream. Excess testosterone can “wake sleeping tumors,” Akturk said.

Akturk was part of a team of Mayo Clinic doctors who treated a 56-year-old man who went blind in both eyes soon after starting testosterone therapy prescribed by his doctor. Akturk and the other doctors traced the blindness — as well as the man’s original symptoms, for which he sought testosterone therapy and which still had not abated — to a tumor in his pituitary gland. The testosterone, they found, had stimulated the tumor further.

After stopping testosterone therapy and prescribing medication to decrease the amount of testosterone in the bloodstream, the man’s eyesight mercifully returned. “It needs to be worked out why this person has low testosterone, rather than just giving them testosterone,” Akturk said.

That does not appear to be happening in practice, however. Only half of the men at a medical center interested in TRT had a clinical diagnosis of hypogonadism, according to a 2017 study by researchers at Emory University School of Medicine, and about 10 percent knew about side effects.

Even still, in 1978 the U.S. Open opted to switch its location to the glamorous and mammoth National Tennis Center in nearby Flushing, leaving the fortunes of the West Side club to languish in its wake. The city’s Landmark Preservation Commission refused to grant landmark status to the stadium due to extensive damage to the structure. “The club is in a very strong position and is thriving again,” said Mario diPreta, general manager and CEO of the West Side Tennis Club. “The concerts have brought

Even still, in 1978 the U.S. Open opted to switch its location to the glamorous and mammoth National Tennis Center in nearby Flushing, leaving the fortunes of the West Side club to languish in its wake. Since the 1960’s the iconic West Side was also a prime concert venue that hosted an astounding selection of brilliant artists, including the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra and Jimi Hendrix, among others.

However, beginning in the late 1980s, the club’s structure began to deteriorate rapidly, and by the 1990’s the historic venue looked destined to become a relic of a past era. At that time, much of New York City was in the throes of urban blight that left once-regal architectural masterpieces – such as Grand Central Station – decayed and badly in need of resuscitation.

Things looked so dire at one point that in October 2010, the club’s management held a vote to weigh whether to allow a condo complex to be built on its site, to generate badly needed revenue for the club. The measure was ultimately voted down, temporarily saving the stadium, until a new setback emerged the following year. The city’s Landmark Preservation Commission refused to grant landmark status to the stadium due to extensive damage to the structure. It seemed as if the historic site was set to be condemned to decay.

Yet soon after, Mike Luba, the owner of concert promotion company Madison House, placed a call to the West Side as part of a search for new venues to hosts events. The timing couldn’t have been better.

After inspecting the stadium with an engineer — and despite numerous problems that made the stadium appear like what Luba said was “a relic from war torn Baghdad,” Madison House forged ahead with his plans to bring music to Forest Hills.

With that decision, what was once a lump of concrete with small trees growing through old bleachers is now a landmark restored to its former glory. Beginning with an August 2013 show by Mumford and Sons, the West Side played host to subsequent shows that slowly helped revive its fortunes. Currently, the restored stadium hosts more than a dozen concerts per year, including the Who, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Tom Petty and others.

“The club is in a very strong position and is thriving again,” said Mario diPreta, general manager and CEO of the West Side Tennis Club. “The concerts have brought tremendous visibility to the club, and our membership has grown 10 percent in just the last year.”

And the notion of multiple uses for a tennis facility is also on the mind of the U.S.Tennis Association. Danny Zausner, the COO for the National Tennis Center, believes that the current home of the US Open a few miles away in Flushing might also benefit from concerts and other revenue sources.

“The National Tennis Center will definitely look into doing more events throughout the facility during the balance of the year now that we have completed the strategic transformation,” Zausner told CNBC.

“Our priority the rest of the year will continue to be our year round tennis programs, but when the opportunity arises, we will look at concerts, graduations, festivals, etc that make sense…[and] to grow the sport of tennis,” Zausner added.

Earlier this year, the West Side hired TV commentator and former French Open doubles champion, Luke Jensen as a director of racquet sports. Jensen is excited about the potential of the club, he told CNBC recently.

“England has Wimbledon and the All England Lawn and Croquet Club. In America it is Forest Hills and the West Side Tennis Club,” Jensen said. He noted the stadium’s role in hosting Ashe’s 1968 breakthrough, the same year Virginia Wade defeated Billie Jean King to claim the women’s title.

“West Side will always be about the great influence of yesterday, but forever looking forward into the new for a greater tomorrow,” Jensen said. “We hope to build the best club junior program in the country in the coming years.”

The bad news is that many investors don’t realize how much they’re paying in fund fees in the first place or how much these expenses and other investment costs are eating into their retirement savings. Watch out for these fees: “Expense ratios” are annual fees charged by all mutual funds, index funds and exchange-traded funds as a percentage of your investment in the fund. Expense ratios apply to all of these funds regardless of whether they are in your 401(k), individual retirement account or b

The bad news is that many investors don’t realize how much they’re paying in fund fees in the first place or how much these expenses and other investment costs are eating into their retirement savings.

Just as you are focused on the compound growth that you’re getting from your investment returns year after year, the fees that you’re paying on those investments are also compounded. Taken together, you could be paying 2 percent or more in fees.

While 2 percent still sounds like a small percentage, it’s misleading, according to Josh Robbins, chief strategy officer at America’s Best 401(k).

Watch out for these fees: “Expense ratios” are annual fees charged by all mutual funds, index funds and exchange-traded funds as a percentage of your investment in the fund. Expense ratios apply to all of these funds regardless of whether they are in your 401(k), individual retirement account or brokerage account.

You may also pay “mutual fund transaction fees,” which a broker will charge to buy and sell some mutual funds, similar to a “trade commission” that a broker would charge to buy or sell a stock.

And, a broker may sell you a fund that has a sales charge or commission, also known as a “sales load.”

That’s all in addition to administrative fees associated with maintaining a brokerage account, as well.

Take two investors, for example: one who’s paying 1 percent in fees and another who’s paying 2 percent. The person with 2 percent in fees will run out of money 10 years sooner than the person with 1 percent in fees, Robbins said.

To see if your fees are too high, check the fee disclosure and look at the expense ratios on the mutual funds you are invested in.

Christine Benz, director of personal finance at Morningstar, suggests considering a lower-fee mutual fund if you have several funds in your 401(k) that have an expense ratio over 1 percent.

Keep in mind that fees may also be related to how much advice you are getting. An actively managed fund will cost more than an index fund or ETF and, alternatively, a robo advisor will be cheaper than a human advisor.

In the end, however, a fund’s expense ratio should not be the only reason that an investor chooses a particular portfolio, Benz said.

“The emotional component is the benefit of working with a human advisor,” she said. “You get someone who knows your personal situation and can reach out to you on a day when the market is tumbling.”

“On the Money” airs on CNBC Saturdays at 5:30 a.m. ET, or check listings for air times in local markets.

Millions of people have sleep apnea, a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. Alphabet’s Verily, its health unit, is spinning out a new company along with ResMed, a public company that specializes in sleep apnea and chronic respiratory diseases, to do just that. Both companies are investing an undisclosed amount in the as-yet-unnamed venture, and is focused on sleep apnea and other sleep breathing disorders. An estimated 22 million Americans have sleep

Millions of people have sleep apnea, a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. But most of them go undiagnosed. Those missed diagnoses cost an estimated $150 billion a year in the United States alone from things such as lost productivity and car accidents, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

So how do you reach more people at risk for the disease? Alphabet’s Verily, its health unit, is spinning out a new company along with ResMed, a public company that specializes in sleep apnea and chronic respiratory diseases, to do just that.

Both companies are investing an undisclosed amount in the as-yet-unnamed venture, and is focused on sleep apnea and other sleep breathing disorders. This is not the first time that Verily has partnered with a life sciences company for a joint venture: It is also working with Johnson & Johnson on an effort called Verb Surgical to develop a next-generation surgical robot.

“The most important piece is really understanding and raising awareness around what a big problem this is,” said Verily’s chief medical officer Jessica Mega, in an interview with CNBC. “And then it’s to identify people earlier and in the long-run really help this group.”

An estimated 22 million Americans have sleep apnea, with about 80 percent of them unaware that they have it. It’s associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, and it can also be dangerous for undiagnosed sufferers who experience a lot of fatigue during the day. Those who have it often wake up feeling like they’re not well-rested after a full night’s sleep. Other tells are loud snoring and interrupted breathing in the night, according to Jason Graff, medical director for sleep disorders for St Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, Missouri.

When a caller asked CNBC’s Jim Cramer about Jack Henry & Associates, he knew he had to look into the under-the-radar financial technology play. Cramer loved the fact that Jack Henry & Associates’ technology helps banks, credit unions and other financial players process transactions and manage their data more efficiently. “It’s not just that business is good, it’s also that Jack Henry the stock is safe,” Cramer said. … It’s almost as if the stock of Jack Henry was created for this very moment.” “

When a caller asked CNBC’s Jim Cramer about Jack Henry & Associates, he knew he had to look into the under-the-radar financial technology play.

And now that he’s had some time to study the company, the “Mad Money” host has drawn a conclusion: “I can safely say that this stock is definitely worth owning, although given its monster recent run-up — the darned thing is less than a buck off its all-time high — you might want to wait for a pullback before you pull the trigger.”

But he liked its stock, which has rallied nearly 30 percent over the last 12 months and 173 percent over the last five years, for another key reason.

“It’s not just that business is good, it’s also that Jack Henry the stock is safe,” Cramer said. “You don’t need to worry about trade disputes, … it’s a nice, U.S.-focused financial technology stock — a non-bank financial that gives money managers the sector exposure they need without any interest rate risk. … It’s almost as if the stock of Jack Henry was created for this very moment.”

Even so, there’s a catch. The “Mad Money” host warned that if the big bank stocks fall back into Wall Street’s favor, shares of Jack Henry could take a serious hit.

“If the banks get their groove back and money managers start selling the fintechs in order to swap into the real financials, that could be trouble,” he said. “While I believe in Jack Henry’s long-term prospects, you might want to hold off buying this one until Friday when we start getting the big bank earnings reports. If they disappoint, then Jack Henry’s your man.”

A Facebook bug briefly unblocked people on Messenger who had previously been blocked, opening the door to unwelcome messages and exposing otherwise hidden posts, the company said Monday. The bug affected up to 800,000 users and has since been fixed, the company said. Blocking someone on Facebook means the person cannot see any of the user’s posts or start conversations on Messenger. In most cases, the bug only unblocked one person on a user’s blocked list, Facebook said. Affected users will see

A Facebook bug briefly unblocked people on Messenger who had previously been blocked, opening the door to unwelcome messages and exposing otherwise hidden posts, the company said Monday.

The bug affected up to 800,000 users and has since been fixed, the company said. But it’s yet another privacy misstep for the social media company, which has been owning up to its errors with increasing frequency in recent months.

“We know that the ability to block someone is important — and we’d like to apologize and explain what happened,” chief privacy officer Erin Egan said in a blog post.

Blocking someone on Facebook means the person cannot see any of the user’s posts or start conversations on Messenger. But the bug, which was active between May 29 and June 5, allowed previously blocked users to see posts shared with wider audiences (like friends of friends) and to message the user who had blocked them.

In most cases, the bug only unblocked one person on a user’s blocked list, Facebook said. Affected users will see a Facebook notification encouraging them to check their blocked lists.